Chinese word

过

Pronunciation

Pinyinguò

Meaning

  • particlehave ___ before

Example

我以前去过北京。wǒ yǐ qián qù guò běi jīng

I have been to Beijing before.

Illustration for 过 (have ___ before)

More examples

我跟他见过面。wǒ gēn tā jiàn guò miàn

I have met him before.

Core concept

A verb followed by a small marker places what happened on the far side of one's experience, like crossing a point on a path, spending a period, or going through a place.

Common phrases

  • 去过北京qù guò běi jīng

    have visited Beijing before

  • 吃过饭chī guò fàn

    have had a meal before

  • 见过面jiàn guò miàn

    have met before

Similar words

了le: Placed after a verb or at sentence end, shows that an action is complete or a situation has changed.

Definition in Chinese

置于动词之后，表示曾经做过某个动作或经历过某种情况，侧重说明有过那种经验而不是结果或持续性。zhì yú dòng cí zhī hòu biǎo shì céng jīng zuò guò mǒu gè dòng zuò huò jīng lì guò móu zhǒng qíng kuàng cè zhòng shuō míng yǒu guò nà zhǒng jīng yàn ér bú shì jié guǒ huò chí xù xìng

Word origin

过 (guò, "to pass") comes from the verb for crossing or passing through, so its experience meaning treats an event as something a person has passed through.

Usage tips

  • This marker shows that an experience happened without naming its date, while a separate time expression can say when it happened.

Other meanings

  • spendverb
  • pass throughverb

Related words

Word lists with this word